Tick, tock, goes the clock...

[Haze]

She didn't want to wake up. She was comfy, riding in a warm cocoon of unconsciousness. Sleepy and comfortable. A tiny frown wrinkled her brow. There was something warm and slightly damp, kind of misty and moist blowing against her cheek. It didn't feel like wind. And she was moving. Why was she moving? She wasn't moving herself, that was for sure.

She groaned, and swatted in front of her face. Her hand connected with fur, and her eyes shot open. As did her mouth when she found herself staring into right into the eyes if a great big bear. It was a silent scream, but only for a split second. A piercing shriek left her and her hand swung out, fist balled up.

The hand didn't connect however, as a blazing hot pain rendered her arm limp, and she whimpered. Somewhere, there was a recognition of the voice that had spoken. The bear had spoken. The bear was...

"Iktomi!" She pouted through the tears that stung her eyes. She wiggled back a little, and sat up. Things were still a little woozy, and she tucked her arm close to her, realising that it was bandaged up. Her free hand drifted down, feeling at the hem of her shirt. Her eyes narrowed then, and a completely dead-pan expression fell over her face.

"You ruined my shirt."

[miss_sanguine]

Her face, her face! Her face did it. And her brazen attempt to knock him in the face with her fist. His lips pulled back into a sharp-toothed grin and he pulled up onto his hind legs and opened his maw to let out a loud roar of a laugh that rang out harshly in the air, nose pointed to the sky like a howling wolf.

When finished, he squatted down into a sit, eying her with his beady, brown eyes with amusement. She was crying now, which made him feel somewhat guilty, but the feeling couldn't last for him. All the seriousness caused by the dearest Kabaliwan had needed to be eased with some fun. Fun for him, at least.

"I did ruin your shirt," he said, nodding a little. "Chewed a hole in it for fun and then ripped it to pieces. Then, after a thought, I decided it might be a good idea to use the piece to wrap your arm. I do enjoy ripping clothes--it's a pastime of mine." A big, bear brow was raised in irony to reveal his sarcasm. "Do you need help getting up, or will I need to carry you with my big, furry arms?" He held out his giant paws as if grasping at something just out of reach, showing the sharp, black claws.

[Haze]

The sound of his laughter on made her scowl at him. He is such a bully! She mourned to herself, glaring even as she wiped at her eyes. "You are such a tease." With a little huff she pulled her legs underneath her so that she could kneel and push her way up.

As the paws reached out to her, she shook her head emphatically, making her feel just a little dizzy all over again, and she leaned back away from him, eyes trained on the claws. Her expression was dubious. "No... you don't need to carry me. I'll be fine," She didn't add the I think to the statement, and instead pushed herself up to her feet, if not a little unsteadily.

Brushing back her hair, she tilted her head to Iktomi. "So, we're really going on a hunt for your ... your memories? What did he mean by that? "

[miss_sanguine]

A tease, she called him. A tease! Yes, he supposed he could be considered as such, though he liked to think that he was well above what a casual tease was considered. Teasing was harmless, pointless, no fun at all. He was a clever, cunning prankster. Iktomi the mischievous in all his furred glory.

With a bear's eyes not being as sharp as a fox's might be, or even a cyote's, he did not fail to see how uneasy she was on her feet.

"Hm," he said, eying her cryptically. "I don't normally bring mortals to my Cavern of Cognizance. One step inside and they are driven mad." Here he brightened. "But I'm sure you'll be fine. Besides, it's not like we've a choice."

Before she could respond, he turned himself into a shaggy-coated Connemara pony and brought himself up beside her. He shook his mane and then butted her lightly with his nose. "Best climb aboard until you're more steady on your feet. This way will be faster than my having to try and keep up with your slow human legs."

[Haze]

"Cavern of what?" Asahrai repeated, blinking in a bewildered manner. She had to admit that she didn't have much recollection of her past, and she was struck that maybe, just maybe, she and Iktomi had something in common in that respect. She wondered if maybe she might have a cavern of whatever it was, that she could start piecing things back together too.

"But I'm not mortal, right?" She questioned once he had changed his form yet again. She eyed him warily for a moment, "You're not going to change into something else when I climb up, are you? Could you change into a dragon? I've always wanted to ride a dragon, that'd be fun." She climbed atop his back, somewhat clumsily. She was still keeping her arm close to her, unwilling to suffer it being bumped.

Pulling a great handful of Iktomi's mane into her fist, she informed him she was ready to go, before launching into another series of questions. "so, why are your memories hidden? Why don't you have them all the time? What's a Cavern of Cog-nee-zance?"

[miss_sanguine]

Boy, people sure liked to talk a lot, especially when there were more important things to be doing. Iktomi looked at her and gave a wicker like a laugh.

"I wasn't planning on changing again, but now that you've planted the idea in my head, it does sound like a lot of fun."

For a person terrified of lone wolves, she sure showed a strange interest in a scaled creature that could devour her in one bite. But a dragon form would be faster.

"Dragon later. Right now you're too weak. Wouldn't want to fall off and plummet thousands of feet to your death, would you?"

She wasn't as heavy as he'd expected her to be, he noticed, as she climbed up onto his back. He made sure she was secure, going on out his way to walk a few paces to see that she wouldn't fall off, before starting forward. "It's not a Cavern of Cognizance, it's the Cavern of Cognizance. And it's the only one. I named it myself. It's where I keep my memories. When one has lived as long as I have, his brains get a little full. I like to empty mine of unneeded things and leave the memories where they are safe. That way I can look back on them whenever I desire."

Was this trip going to be nothing but questions for him to answer?

[Haze]

Of course it would sound like fun, Asahrai thought wryly. He seemed to take pleasure in frightening her, and giving her little scares at every opportunity. She didn't think she'd get used to it, but as she leaned forward and laid her head down on his neck, she was glad that he seemed to actually be thinking of her and her current state.

She didn't have much more to say though, except for a little "oh," to his explanation of the cavern. It was a strange concept to her, for while she had been walking for many hundreds of years, she didn't find herself with the same problem of having a mind full of memories. In fact, her head was quite void of any significant remembrance.

"Do you remember when you first existed?" She asked quietly, closing her eyes and letting the rhythm of his steps distract her from the throbbing in her arm.

[miss_sanguine]

The next question seemed a silly one for a girl who claimed to be as immortal as he. As he plodded along, he shook his head a little, his mane falling to the other side of his neck. "I have always existed," he said. "Maybe not consciously, but I have been forever and always."

There were shattered thoughts, as sharp as glass shards but as light as feathers, of the time before man, when he'd no form at all and had floated around. These memories had no substance, though. More like wind than images.

"Why? Do you?"

[miss_sanguine]

Closing this due to inactivity. If you'd like to start it up again, PM me.